Personally, I am not a fan of longwings, so I went with the McAllister and am happy with them. Are you looking at shell Cordovan? If not, I am not a fan of the grainy texture of the walnut they use on the McNeil. I also prefer the sleeker look of the McAllister, specifically the single sole vs. the double.

I suspect others in this thread will tell you they prefer the McNeil.

Edit: Also, the McAllister is a balmoral/oxford, while the McNeil is a blucher/derby. Not sure if that matters to you.

And two more. Nice burnishing, a longer toe cap, and generally a sleeker shoe than AE's other captoes IMO. I've only worn these twice and have done nothing more than put on one coat of Reno, one coat Saphir med. brown creme, and two coats Saphir med brown wax. Lot's of compliments on these shoes so far.

Fifth Street boots are great. I found the fit similar but it is important to find out how they fit the ankle area.

Thanks, so you own a pair I assume. I was wondering about the color and leather. Some pictures on line kind of give it a poop brown look, other pictures the leather looks real fine - like a brown with a red hue. Any thoughts?

Thanks, so you own a pair I assume. I was wondering about the color and leather. Some pictures on line kind of give it a poop brown look, other pictures the leather looks real fine - like a brown with a red hue. Any thoughts?

The brown is the same type of other dark brown AE shoes. Which pictures did you see had a red hue?

Well, although they didn't have the shoe I originally reserved, AE sent me a pair in a similar size (half size smaller but wider). No one will confuse them for firsts but there isn't anything majorly wrong with them that won't happen naturally after a couple of wears.

After sending two pairs of shoes back for exchange, I think I've finally found a keeper!

Now to begin conditioning and breaking my new Brown Cordovan Strands in!